Growers of marijuana often face many challenges, especially when it comes to the quality and quantity of their crops. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to ensure your plants grow well. Here are 8 pro tips for growing marijuana that will help you produce a healthy crop.
- Choose the right marijuana seeds
The marijuana seeds you plant play a significant role in the final quality of your crop. High-quality seeds produce high-quality marijuana plants that have a higher THC content and are more potent.
To ensure you choose great marijuana seeds, buy them from reputable marijuana dispensaries such as United Strains of America. Be sure to ask for the highest-quality marijuana seeds they have available. It would also help if you knew the different types of marijuana seeds which include feminized seeds, regular seeds, and auto-flowering seeds.
Keep in mind that the seeds you buy depend on many factors. For this reason, it is imperative to first do some due diligence by researching. Understand your needs first, then go ahead and decide on the seeds that suit those needs best. You will also want to consider where you plan on planting your marijuana, as this, too, can affect which type of marijuana seed is right for you.
- Select the right soil
Loamy soil is particularly recommended for marijuana plants. It’s a mixture of sand, silt, and clay that is neither acidic nor alkaline. To get the best out of your crop, make sure you choose soil that has been enriched with organic compost or fertilizer. Moreover, ensure you prepare the soil before planting by removing rocks and debris using a garden fork.
You can also use specialized soils such as potting mix instead, but these might contain fertilizers, so check their composition first if you would like to grow organic marijuana in pots rather than in open ground beds outdoors.
- Use the right light source
For the marijuana seeds to grow into healthy plants, they need a lot of light. Marijuana needs about 18 hours of light per day in order to grow properly, so make sure it’s getting enough natural or artificial light. Without it, the plant won’t grow, and you will end up with tiny seedlings that don’t do much good. A reputable supplier should advise what type of lighting to use for growing marijuana indoors, but if not, then there are several options:
- Induction lamps – They produce more heat than most lights.
- High-pressure sodium (HPS) or metal halide (MH) bulbs such as those used in streetlights. These give off less heat than induction lamps and can be put very close to your plants without burning them. However, these types of lamps require a reflector hood to direct the concentrated beams towards your plants instead of all over your room.
- LED lights – LED lights have become popular among marijuana farmers due to the low energy usage and heat they produce. They are often used in conjunction with the HPS or MH lights since they are more efficient when used together.
- Give them plenty of water and nutrients
For your marijuana to thrive, you need to keep it well hydrated and fed. It is important to find the right balance between both. Too little water or nutrients might damage your marijuana as much as too much, so make sure you know what you are doing before giving it a go.
A good rule of thumb is to use one gallon of water, mixed with some fertilizer, for every four inches around its base when watering your plant each time. This will ensure that the plants get enough water and that you are not over-watering them. Remember, too much water and not enough air causes mold, which ruins all those hard-earned buds.
- Place it under the right temperatures
For marijuana to grow well, it needs to be kept in the right temperatures. The best range is somewhere between 68 degrees Fahrenheit and 78 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are growing indoors, it’s important that you provide your plants with a cool place where they can rest when it gets too hot – around 70-75 F during the day should suffice for this purpose.
- Ventilate the space
Good airflow is important as it will help you achieve better temperatures for your plants. Make sure that the place where you are growing marijuana has proper ventilation to allow airflow in and out of the space. This helps get rid of heat inside while allowing cool air in when it’s hot outside, which is good for your marijuana plant. If you grow the marijuana outdoors, ensure that you give them enough space to grow around.
- Humidity levels
Humidity is very important for your marijuana plant. Keep the humidity level around 50 percent to ensure that it does not get too dry or moist inside, which can cause problems with your plants at either extreme. If you are growing outdoors, make sure there’s enough shade and water to keep things cool but humid. This will help them grow healthy into strong plants that produce top-quality marijuana buds. Too little humidity or moisture can cause wilting leaves and brown spots on flowers which makes them less appealing to consumers
- Use the right tools
Lastly, use the right tools to help you grow your marijuana. As you begin to plant the marijuana seeds, you will need to use a trowel or spade to dig the holes where they are going. Then throughout their lives, be sure that you continue using tools like these as well as other ones such as pruning shears and gloves.
Take Away
There are many more things that you can do when it comes to growing marijuana in your home, but the tips mentioned earlier should help get you started on successfully achieving this goal. It would also help to learn more about how to cultivate and harvest marijuana. This is so because the more you know, the better off your plants will be.
